Whether Net-oriented brands open physical storefronts such as DirectBanking.com’s Boston branch, is really a marketing question. It worked for Schwab, it will work for several Net-oriented banks, but it’s not likely to be a core strategy for most. It simply requires too much capital. That’s not to say face-to-face service won’t be important. We recently closed a six-figure home equity loan from a Net-only startup (p. 26), which sent a freelance notary to our house on a weekend to sign the closing papers. That proved far more convenient than dragging the family down to a branch to watch mom and dad sign papers.
Even though Net-oriented banks are getting a bad rap in the press and from the conference podium, we expect another 50 to 100 will launch during the next five years, bringing the total to more than 80 compared to the 44 expected by year-end 2000.
Contents
• Personal Financial Portals
• Bank of Dreams (Part 4): Business Plan
• Executive Summary
• Introduction/Market Need
• Company Structure
• Products
• Launch Plan Detail
• General Business Plan Outline
• Business Plan Resources
• Guerilla Online Marketing Tactics
• Net-Only Bank Watch
• X.com exits banking
• Update on DeepGreen’s HEQ
• Scorecard: Alternative payments
• E-Service: Virtual Bank’s Autoresponse